More pictures

We've added some new pictures to the end of the "Benjy's First Month" album. Enjoy!

Fun with stroller & Herman

Last week, we installed the carseat adapter on our stroller (a BOB, for those of you in the know). That meant that we could finally all go out for a walk together. No doubt by summer we'll be taking Benjy on the long walks that I normally take with Herman. For your viewing pleasure (this means you, Grandma Rhona), here's the first of many strolling pictures.

Singing Benjy to sleep

Benjy still has a hard time getting himself to sleep -- not uncommon among babies, we're told. So, Steph and I have been singing to him before naps and at night. A healthy dose of singing, walking, and jiggling (at the same time) tends to be the ticket. But it takes a while. While we started him off with American Pie (and rated the time-to-sleep by determining how many verses it took Benjy to nod off), the lyrical challenge of that song is just too much. (Especially with the jester appearing in two different verses.)

While Steph favors Barenaked Ladies' When You Dream (what other song can intelligently name-check a baby's fontanelle), here's my list of songs in heavy rotation. At this point, I've sung each of these enough that I've broken away from the lyrics sites on the web while singing.

• 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall (an old classic)
• Witchcraft (Frank Sinatra)
• Fly Me to the Moon (Frank)
  
• I've Got You Under My Skin (Frank)
  
• My Way (also Frank; this one is extra soporific)
• Roy Rogers (early 70s Elton John)
• Empty Garden (early 80s Elton)
• Skyline Pigeon (early 70s Elton)
  
• Candle in the Wind (early 70s Elton)
  
• Sacrifice (late 80s Elton)
  
• Latitude (mid-90s Elton)
  
• Sad Songs Say So Much (mid-80s Elton; also quite soporific)
  

I've tried some others, but it's amazing how many songs are unsingable with just one person's mediocre voice. Last weekend, some friends of ours told us that their kids still request songs by name out of the small group that they were sung while babies. Wonder which of these Benjy will ask for later in life.

What songs did you sing your kids? Please comment and let me know.

Back to work

On Friday, I went back to work. Although being at home full time for Benjy's first month has been neat, I was glad to get back into the world and stretch my brain again. I still have to shake off the rust and get used to working a full day even on less than optimal sleep, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove. Brandeis has been good enough to allow me to work from home Mondays and Fridays through the end of March, so I'll still be able to see lots of Benjy and help Steph out as much as I can.

Play time with Herman

Benjy's been spending some time each day in his play gym (all decked out with toys in the shape of jungle animals, and featuring some appropriately bouncy baby music). Tummy time also tends to happen there. Whenever Benjy's in the gym, Herman likes to lie near him.



Herman, of course, also likes to take over the gym when Benjy's not there. You can find more at http://picasaweb.google.com/sgwilson/BenjySFirstMonth. Check out Benjy's terrific expressions.

Finding photos of Benjy

We've been trying to post photos as often as we can -- between feedings and changing poopy diapers, of course. To make it easier for you to find these photos, even when they're not featured in the blog, I've added links to our photo sites at the right of the blog.

Bathtime

Today, after taking his first trip to our synagogue for Shabbat (the first of many), Benjy had his first real bath. Now that his cord has healed (producing a very cute belly button) and his schmeckle has healed sufficiently from his brit milah, we're finally able to wash him the way we'd like. He made all sorts of cute faces. While this was going on, Herman was pretty excited -- he wanted to be part of the action. It's great to see how cute and sweet he's being with Benjy.



You can find the rest of the photos on Steph's PicasaWeb site at http://picasaweb.google.com/sgwilson/BenjySFirstBath.

Them &*&%$! voting machines again

With the election season truly upon us, the problem of voting technology comes around again. Why can't we develop solutions to this problem between election cycles, you ask? Hmm. This article about voting machines is a fascinating one.

Can You Count On Voting Machines? (New York Times Magazine)

Benjy's Brit Milah

Sorry about the extended radio silence. I've been having some technical problems with the blog. Hopefully, they've been resolved.

Here's the quick update.... We got home from the hospital on New Year's Eve -- Steph's mom and my mother were already at the house. So far so good -- Benjy continues to feed mightily and sleep well. He's gaining weight, pooping & peeing like a champ, and his first pediatrician's appointment went well.

Yesterday, at our home, we held Benjy's Brit Milah (otherwise known as "the bris"), a Jewish ritual circumcision ceremony that marks the entry of a Jewish boy into the covenant of the Jewish people. About 30+ people (friends and family) were there. It was beautiful and moving. Here's a picture of my mom with Benjy prior to the ceremony.




















Although the father is technically commanded to perform the Brit Milah, generally a rabbi and/or a trained mohel will officiate and perform the Brit Milah in the father's stead. In this case, the mohel set things up so that I could perform most of the actual circumcision myself. I was unaware of this until the moment was upon me, but it became a very neat part of the ceremony.

Our friend Barry took a pile of pictures. You can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/bjrubenstein/WilsonBriss.